The Need To Do More

During the past few weeks, I've been talking to various people about my decision to start on a personal project involving developing a mobile app. I waited for a couple of months evaluating whether to go for this and making sure nothing out there was similar. If there was something then there was no need for me to pursue this as it was covered. At last I came to the conclusion there wasn't something helping with the issues I saw and someone had to do it, so why not me? I'm pursuing this because I feel that it's needed and I'm both passionate and capable enough to change lives with it.

Most of the feedback I've gotten has been extremely encouraging about the actual app and idea/plans, but a trend I saw in my discussion with other students set me back. It came from students who either were interested in helping build the app at first or those who asked me questions about what I was doing. They seemed shocked and baffled that I would pursue a personal project such as this when I already had a nice comfortable internship. I already worked a 9-5, got paid, and had a relaxing and fun life. They relayed to me how they could never imagine doing more "work" after getting off work as it seemed like a fundamentally preposterous idea.

Now not every student I talked with held this idea, as many encouraged me and congratulated me on starting something so cool. But of course, it's the negative comments that stuck with me - not affecting me personally but making me think deeper into the different types of people and motivation that makes someone want to "work after getting off work" as one student called it, that makes me want to get every drop of juice out of each lemon life gives me. I had free time, I knew this was something worthwhile, and my passion buzzed behind me like a fully charged battery - that's why I decided to go for it.

Reflecting on my past year in college, this rang true for a variety of opportunities. I think what's different about some students, that sets them apart, is not that they took advantage of opportunities given to them or worked hard - but that some created opportunities for themselves when there weren't any, that some sought out new ones when they felt they wanted "more" even if the seeking was the hardest part. I think even things like hard work can be taught. We can teach students what they should be doing, but can we teach initiative? Can we teach students drive and ambition? I definitely don't have the answer to this, and maybe for most professions it's not necessarily a needed quality, but I think it's definitely one you don't want to look past.

Look for the people who constantly want more than the "normal", who aren't satisfied if they have time to be bored. Look for those who squeeze every drop out of that lemon, while also finding more that life didn't have to give them.